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Head of referees says Gauzere has admitted he got big calls wrong in Wales' defeat of England

By Sam Smith
Referee Pascal Gauzere.

Referee Pascal Gauzere has admitted to the two controversial mistakes he made during Wales’ Six Nations defeat of England on Saturday. Gauzere was at the centre of two major talking points during the game, which saw Wales continue their unbeaten run in this year’s Six Nations as they chase an unlikely Grand Slam.

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And Gauzere has now acknowledged his two errors, according to World Rugby’s Head of Match Officials Joel Jutge.

Jutge told Midi Olympique:

“I believe one has to be transparent and not let things drag on and say what one thinks. There were two unfortunate events during the match which were tough cases to handle. Pascal Gauzere recognised as such when he spoke to me on the phone,” Jutge said.

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After telling England captain Owen Farrell to address his teammates, Gauzere angered England with an early ‘time on’ call which allowed Wales outhalf Dan Biggar take a quick penalty, leading to a Josh Adams try.

“From the moment when the referee says ‘time on’ the game can recommence,” Jutge explained.

“Except that it was on him to make sure the English had had material time to reorganise themselves, because it was him who had asked the captain to speak to his players.”

Later on in the first half, Gauzere and his TMO allowed a Liam Williams try to stand despite an apparent knock-on by Louis Rees-Zammit in the build up.

“With regard to the second try, I think there is a tendency to refer to the TMO too often when one can make the call oneself on the pitch and stick with it which if Pascal had whistled for a knock-on there would have been no appeal by the TMO to review it,” Jutge added.

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“Pascal was the first to admit to this when he re-watched the match on Sunday. When one commits an error one should be transparent about it. Despite this he is still an excellent international referee.”

England have opted against lodging an official complaint to World Rugby over Gauzere’s performance.

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Bull Shark 1 hours ago
Jake White: Are modern rugby players actually better?

Of the rugby I’ve born witness to in my lifetime - 1990 to date - I recognize great players throughout those years. But I have no doubt the game and the players are on average better today. So I doubt going back further is going to prove me wrong. The technical components of the game, set pieces, scrums, kicks, kicks at goal. And in general tactics employed are far more efficient, accurate and polished. Professional athletes that have invested countless hours on being accurate. There is one nation though that may be fairly competitive in any era - and that for me is the all blacks. And New Zealand players in general. NZ produces startling athletes who have fantastic ball skills. And then the odd phenomenon like Brooke. Lomu. Mcaw. Carter. Better than comparing players and teams across eras - I’ve often had this thought - that it would be very interesting to have a version of the game that is closer to its original form. What would the game look like today if the rules were rolled back. Not rules that promote safety obviously - but rules like: - a try being worth 1 point and conversion 2 points. Hence the term “try”. Earning a try at goals. Would we see more attacking play? - no lifting in the lineouts. - rucks and break down laws in general. They looked like wrestling matches in bygone eras. I wonder what a game applying 1995 rules would look like with modern players. It may be a daft exercise, but it would make for an interesting spectacle celebrating “purer” forms of the game that roll back the rules dramatically by a few versions. Would we come to learn that some of the rules/combinations of the rules we see today have actually made the game less attractive? I’d love to see an exhibition match like that.

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